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The show was originally intended as a solo project for Moore, called Not Only Dudley Moore, But Also His Guests. However, unsure about going it alone, Moore invited his partner from Beyond the Fringe, Peter Cook, to guest in the pilot (along with Diahann Carroll and John Lennon, who was to make two more appearances during the course of the series). So well received by the studio audience was their double act, in particular the first "Dagenham Dialogue", "A Spot of the Usual Trouble", that Cook was invited to become a permanent fixture and the show became Not Only Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, But Also Their Guests, though it was only ever really referred to as Not Only... But Also. This somewhat cumbersome title was later referred to by Cook in an interview as "another of Dudley's plodding ideas."

Three series were made: January to April 1965 (prod/dir Joe McGrath), January to February 1966 (prod/dir Dick Clement) and February to May 1970 (prod/dir Jimmy Gilbert). John Street produced the (surviving) 1966 Boxing Day Special - despite initial tension with Cook, the results were excellent.

The opening titles for series one often featured Dudley playing the series' theme (later released on the B-side of the 1965 'Goodbyee' single release) in a variety of unusual locations, such as in a car wash, on violin at a Gypsy cafe, and as a one-man band. From series two onward, episodes usually began with a sketch based primarily around revealing the words "NOT ONLY... BUT ALSO..." in huge letters placed in obscure places (for example, the aircraft carrierArk Royal). Every edition except (possibly) the pilot concluded with a performance of arguably Moore's best known composition, 'Goodbyee', sometimes involving the guest star of that particular episode. Extant examples include Cilla Black crying 'Oh, kiss me, Peter!' during the song's intro in series two episode one and Peter Sellers accompanying the duo on timpani in series one episode six.

Among the best known features of the show were the "Dagenham Dialogues" between Pete and Dud, which were rambling, surreal conversations running often for over ten minutes and regular appearances by Cook's oblivious upperclass gent Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling. Other well-known sketches include the "Facts of Life" sketch ("A Bit of a Chat"), "The Leaping Nuns of the Order of St Beryl", "Superthunderstingcar" (a parody of Thunderbirds and other Sylvia and Gerry Anderson puppet shows), and the "rhythmic voodoo" R&B singer Bo Dudley - though the fame of these almost certainly owes much to the fact they still exist in vision, unlike much of the series.

Contrary to popular myth, the Cook perennial "One Leg Too Few", a classic sketch about a one-legged actor applying for the role of Tarzan, which had been written by Cook when he was 18 years old and used in Beyond the Fringe, never appeared on the BBC Not Only... But Also, although it did feature in one of the Australian shows in 1971. The series — in particular the "Pete and Dud" segments—allowed Cook the chance to adlib and both, but most famously Moore, was often reduced to helpless laughter, or "corpsing". Cook made a habit of trying to crack Moore up in the middle of their dialogues, occasionally forcing himself to corpse in the process.

Between the second and third series, the two men made a series for ATV called Goodbye Again (director Shaun Riordan), which was very similar up to the point of using the same music and reusing some sketches like Alan-a-Dale. Shows lasted an hour and were edited more heavily. Unlike Not Only But Also, all the tapes survive.

The BBC wiped most editions of Not Only...But Also in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as it did with many other programmes in this era. Cook and Moore even offered to pay for the cost of preservation and buy new videotapes so that the old tapes would not need to be reused, but this offer was rejected.[1] Some telerecordings of the black and white episodes survive, but as the completed videotapes of the colour series were wiped, the only surviving colour sketches are the 16mm film inserts. In 2010 it was announced that off-air audio recordings for at least part of all the episodes had been recovered, and that there were plans to make them available, although this has yet to happen.[2] A 2016 documentary by Victor Lewis-Smith, "The Undiscovered Peter Cook", featured first series extracts from "Sir Arthur at the Tailor", long known to exist, and the final minute and twenty five seconds of "Pete and Dud on the Bus", being reconstituted from film footage newly recovered from the Australian Broadcasting Company trailer department and an off-air soundtrack recording from the UK. Apparently further mute clips (ranging from 50 secs to 1 min 25 secs) have been also recovered, from 'Pete and Dud - Diseases', 'Pete and Dud - Music', and 'Pete and Dud - Sex', all otherwise missing (in video) sketches from the second series.

A 1971 visit to Australia for the live show "Behind the Fridge" (the name was a joke on "Beyond the Fringe") saw Cook and Moore record two half hour Not Only... But Also specials for Australian television. These two episodes also survive intact, as do specially filmed performances of the "Behind the Fridge" live show from Australia and London, the latter in colour. The Australian performance has been available on DVD in the past, but is now out of stock. Though they have since been viewed as "Best Ofs" (featuring new versions of "One Leg Too Few", "Shirt Shop", and "Pseudolene/Job Offer", see episode guide), at least half of the material was new.

A number of surviving sequences were compiled into The Best of Not Only...But Also, screened by BBC 2 on 24 December 1974. Cook and Moore persuaded the BBC (in part thanks to a pleading letter from Cook's elderly mother) to piece together six half-hour compilation shows, screened on BBC 2 from 4 November to 9 December 1990 as The Best of What's Left of Not Only...But Also and released in 100 minute compilation form under the same title on VHS. In 2003 a 98-minute Region 2 DVD compilation of surviving sketches was released as The Best of Peter Cook & Dudley Moore; this is the same as the previous video tape but missing the third series' opening sequence, "Tower Bridge". At least one sketch substitution appears to have occurred between domestic and international versions of the compilation shows, the latter of which included 'The Walrus and the Carpenter' (a filmed recreation of the Lewis Carrol poem which survives from the largely missing sixth episode of series two) instead of 'The Ravens'. Neither DVD includes this sequence. 'Initials, or 'Old J.J', an old piece of Cook's recorded for the NOBA pilot in November 1964 and screened in January '65 in the first episode of the series proper, was included in a mid-nineties VHS compilation of '60s BBC comedy extracts.

A Region 1 DVD of The Best of... What's Left of... Not Only... But Also... was released by BBC Worldwide on 9 September 2008, featuring all six compilation episodes. This still leaves over half the extant material unreleased in any form.

Show 2: TX 23 January 1965 (Barry Humphries, Roddy Maude-Roxbury) One-Man Band Opening/Silent Film extract/Tarquin Mordente – Silent Film Producer/Painting on Television/Roddy Maude-Roxbury monologue/Guide to the North Circular/Pete and Dud – A Spot of the Usual Trouble/Striptease Music: Goldie & The Gingerbreads (Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat), Dudley Moore Trio (I Won’t Dance), Dudley and Orchestra (Got a Lot of Livin’ to Do)

Show 3: TX 6 February 1965 (Joe Melia, Bill Wallis, John Wells) Cinema Opening/Sir Arthur At The Tailor/The Great War/Pete and Dud – The Worst Thing in the World/Alan A’Dale Music: June Christy (You Came a Long Way from St Louis, Just in Time, Remind Me, My Shining Hour), Dudley Moore Trio (My Blue Heaven)

Show 5: TX 6 March 1965 (Mel Torme) London Bus Opening (exists as silent film sequence)/Pete and Dud – On the Bus/Canvassing Dracula (exists as silent film sequence)/Job Offer (possibly remade as “Pseudolene” for the second Australian NOBA in 1971)/Privates Cigarettes Advertising (exists as silent film sequence)/Betting Agent Music: Mel Torme (Limehouse Blues, My One and Only Highland Fling/Dat Dere Daddy)

Show 2: TX 22 January 1966 (Alan Freeman) Scottish (“Curse of the McLooneys”) Opening/Pete And Dud – Diseases/The Most Boring Man In The World Competition/Interview with the Most Boring Man in the World/Six Of The Best* Music: Dakota Stanton (High On A Windy Valley, Morning Glory)

Show 3: TX 29 January 1966 Court Jester Opening/Italian Restaurant/Ol' Man River (originally shot for 1.5, later remade for London run of Behind the Fridge. That version was included in the 1990 repeat series)/Blue Movie/Pete and Dud – Music Music: Blossom Dearie (You Turn Me On Baby), Dudley Moore Trio (Softly As In The Morning Rise)

Show 4: TX 5 February 1966 Pete and Dud At The Seaside Opening/The Frog And Peach*/Commercials/Slapstick Comedy Music: Emil Lancey (If I Were A Bell, Rainy Day), Cook and Moore (Isn't She A Sweetie)

^Compiled by William Muirhead with reference to Publish and Bedazzled (Peter Cook fanzine); Postings on The Mausoleum Club; Missing Episodes.com and other sources. Sketch order for 1.5 and 1.7 conjecture.